The Story of Lily Evans
by Taydancerr
Summary: This is the story of Harry Potter's mother. It goes from her finding out she was a witch to her time at Hogwarts to fighting Voldemort.
1. Chapter 1

**The Story of Lily Evans**

**Chapter 1: The Discovery of Magic**

"Tuney!" Lily cried out in amazement. "Look!"

Nine-year-old Petunia Evans made a flying leap off of the tire swing attached to the oak tree in her front yard. "What Lily?"

Lily was standing next to their mother's prized rosebush. In her small hand sat a fully opened red rose. But even as Petunia approached her sister the petals began to close until it looked as though the flower hadn't yet bloomed.

Lily giggled. "Isn't it cool Tuney? I'm gonna go show Mummy!"

She darted around her shocked sister and into the house, still laughing at her sister's expression. She was quite pleased with her new talent. Being the younger sister and all meant that there weren't many things Lily could do that Petunia couldn't, even though there was only a year's age difference.

She ran through the house, leaping over the cat yelling "Mum! Muuuuum!" She could hear Petunia behind her. Lily turned back to stick her tongue out at her sister when she slammed into something. Something warm…

"Mum! Look what I can do, and Tuney can't." She turned again to smirk at her panting sister and then held out the now crushed rosebud to her mother.

"Oh!" Mrs. Evans cried. "Girls how many times have I told you not to touch my roses!" Lily cringed at the frown on her mother's face.

"You're going to hurt yourselves on those sharp thorns," she chided.

"_Mum_," Petunia cut in. "Lily's being mean. She's messing up the rose."

Lily glanced at her sister and saw the fear and longing in her eyes. She slid her gaze down to Petunia's hand and saw a second rose flattened in her hand. Her heart sped up as she realized her sister's tone meant she couldn't do the rose trick.

"Mum watch!" Lily focused on the rose she was still holding out to her mother and stared, smiling into her mother's face as it opened and closed.

Mrs. Evans gaped at her youngest daughter. "Oh!"

Lily's smile faded at her mother's expression. She glanced pleadingly at her sister, but met the cold smirk on her sister's face. Lily blinked back tears, feeling like she was doing something horribly wrong. She immediately dropped the rose and turned to run, shouldering Petunia aside. She could hear her mother, who had gotten her voice back, asking Petunia what was going on.

As Lily pounded up the stairs the tears started flowing. She stumbled blindly down the hall, flinching away from her father as he poked his head out of his office to see what the ruckus was. She felt his strong arms encircle her and sobbed on his shoulder.

"Shhh honey what's wrong?" he murmured into her hair. "Lil?"

"I-I did something bad," Lily choked out.

By then Petunia and their mother had made their way upstairs.

"Oh sweetie," Mrs. Evans wrapped her arms around her husband and daughter. "You didn't do anything wrong. But I do think we need to discuss this as a family." She gave her confused husband a _look_. He nodded and scooped up Lily. They made their way downstairs and he gently deposited her onto the couch.

Petunia settled into the armchair near the fireplace, looking warily at her sister. Mr. Evans followed his wife as she bustled into the kitchen to get some snacks. Lily slowly sat up, feeling snot in her nose and tears on her cheeks. Using the heel of her hand she roughly wiped her cheeks and sniffed loudly enough to make Petunia jump nervously.

"Alright girls," their mother said as she returned with a tray of cookies and milk. "Tell me what's going on."

Slowly, Lily stammered out how she'd been playing with near the rosebush when she'd noticed a butterfly on a bud. She'd reached out to coax the butterfly onto her hand, but it wouldn't come. So she'd gently snapped the bud off. Unfortunately, this had scared the butterfly away. She'd been sad, staring at the closed up bud, and had wished for it to open, when the petals slowly did. Lily had been amazed, and immediately called Petunia over.

At this moment, Lily chose to look up and caught her parents exchanging startled looks. They had never heard of anything like this before, except in books.

Books about magic.

Was their daughter a witch? They couldn't know for sure.

Petunia cut in and said, "I don't understand how she does it! I tried it Mummy, but it didn't work for me." Her bottom lip puffed out in disappointment.

"Well Lily, I think you had just better stop doing this okay?" Mrs. Evans looked at her daughter. "Mummy's not mad at you, you didn't do anything wrong sweetheart," she added hastily. "I think it would just be better to stop, okay?"

"Okay," Lily agreed, her lip trembling.

* * *

**Six Months Later…**

Six months after the flower incident, the shock and confusion of her abilities had worn off for Lily. Looking back, the now nine-year-old couldn't remember why she had been so upset. For a week she had stopped with her special skills, but then began again, in secret, when no one else was around.

One day, when she and Petunia were at the park swinging, Lily began going higher and higher.

"Lily, don't do it!" Petunia shrieked out in shock.

But Lily had already let go, at the highest point of her arc. She flew up into the air. The wind blew through her hair, and she looked out to the houses across the street, giggling as she slowly began her descent, landing lightly on her toes. She glanced back in time to see Petunia's angry glare.

"Mummy told you not to!" she yelled, dragging her sandals through the gravel in order to stop her swing. She jumped up, bossy hands on hips. "Mummy said you weren't allowed, Lily!"

"But I'm fine," said Lily still giggling. She didn't understand why Petunia got so upset. Spotting a flower on the ground, the devil inside her grinned. "Tuney, look at this. Watch what I can do."

She bent down, her back to Petunia as her sister approached, and then held out the flower, making its petals open and close.

"Stop it!" Tuney screeched.

"It's not hurting you," Lily murmured, frowning at her sister's reaction. But she dropped the blossom back to the ground.

"It's not right," Petunia muttered. "How do you do it?" she added, with definite longing in her voice.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" a voice came from behind the flower bushes. A pale skinny boy popped out, with long black hair and shabby, too-large clothes. Petunia screamed and retreated to the swings, but Lily stayed where she was, curiosity overpowering fear.

"What's obvious?" she asked.

The boy turned red, but Lily could feel the nervous excitement streaming off of him. He glanced at Petunia, and then lowered his voice. "I know what you are."

"What do you mean?"

"You're . . . you're a witch," he whispered.

Lily's excitement was replaced by anger. "_That's_ not a very nice thing to say to somebody!"

_You don't just go up to random people in the park and call them names!_ she thought angrily as she turned, nose in air, and marched over to her sister.

"No!" the boy shouted, his face flooding with even more color. He ran after her, his overlarge coat flapping behind him.

Lily and her sister each held on to one of the swing poles, surveying the odd boy in united disapproval.

"You _are_," he pleaded to Lily. "You _are_ a witch. I've been watching you for awhile. But there's nothing wrong with that. My mum's one, and I'm a wizard."

Lily felt a swooping sensation in her stomach. Now Tuney knew she had been continuing practicing her abilities. Now she would tell Mummy and Daddy. Now Lily would be in big trouble. But instead, Tuney laughed.

"Wizard!" she shrieked. "_I_ know who _you_ are. You're that Snape boy! They live down Spinner's End by the river," she added to Lily, and it was evident from her tone that she considered the address a poor recommendation. "Why have you been spying on us?"

The boy, Snape, fidgeted uncomfortably. "Haven't been spying. Wouldn't spy on _you_ anyway. _You're_ a Muggle," he said spitefully.

Lily held back a giggle. Although she had no clue what the word meant, she knew it was an insult.

"Lily, come on, we're leaving!" Petunia commanded shrilly. Lily immediately stalked out of the playground after her sister, sparing only a glare to Snape.

* * *

Lily often thought about the boy who had insulted her. Strangely, she didn't think that he had been trying to insult her. When he had called Tuney a . . . a . . . what was the word? Mongle? Mugger? No . . . Muggle! That was it. When he had called Tuney a Muggle, Lily could hear the spite in his words and knew it had been an insult. But when he had called her a witch . . . He had seemed genuine.

About a month after the event at the playground she was walking home from school alone. Tuney had stayed home sick, running a fever, and Lily was worried about her big sister. Therefore she didn't realize that someone had been following her since she passed the playground.

"Lily?" a soft voice asked from just behind her.

She whirled, fists raised. It was that Snape boy. She slowly lowered her fists. "What?" she asked suspiciously.

He cocked his head to one side. "Can we talk?"

She crossed her arms and didn't move. "Fine, talk."

He took a deep breath. "You can do all these strange things, right? Like that trick with the flower, and flying off the swing. And no one knows why. It scares your parents and sister because they don't understand. They're not like us. We're-" here he lowered his voice and leaned forward, a pleading look on his face, "we're magical."

Lily couldn't help it; she was intrigued. Her arms dropped to her sides. "Prove it." She said. "Prove you're magical."

Snape couldn't stop the crazy grin that crossed his face. "Okay," he whispered. He took a deep breath and pointed to a rock at Lily's feet. It slowly rose up until it was eye level with her. She reached out and poked it. It wobbled in the air then sank a few inches before hovering back above their heads. Lily met Snape's eyes and they just stared at each other for a moment. Then Lily's face broke out into a huge smile.

"I believe you," she said simply.

"I'm Severus. Severus Snape." He said tentatively.

"Lily Evans," she replied, as she stuck out her hand. Severus shook it.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the short first chapter, there will be more soon, I promise. The next chapter will also be short. It will go up to Lily getting on the train to Hogwarts. Thanks very much for reading, and I would appreciate a review:) If you found any errors, please, let me know! Thanks! Also, I took some of the content directly from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: The Prince's Tale. It all belongs to J.K. Rowling. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Learning of a New World**

Over the next few weeks, the two became good friends. Severus, or Sev, as Lily had begun to call him, told her all the wonderful things about being magical.

Perhaps her favorite thing was that when she turned eleven she would get to go to a school for witches and wizards called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Petunia frequently called Sev a liar and said Lily was being stupid for believing him and being friends with him. But Lily didn't care.

He told her of Azkaban, the wizard prison. This had given Lily nightmares for several days because she thought she could go to prison because of all the underage magic she'd been doing. But Sev explained that Azkaban was for really bad witches and wizards. The guards, the dementors, sounded really foul to Lily. She couldn't understand why witches and wizards would do bad stuff if they knew they going to be sent _there_. It had certainly scarred her for life.

For months Lily dreamed about getting her Hogwarts letter. She turned ten that January.

_Only one more year… and then some,_ she'd thought to herself. Sev had told her that they'd probably get their letters around July.

One day they were talking again, about this topic. It was late October and the small forest behind Lily's house was beautiful, with all the leaves changing color and spiraling down to the ground.

"And will it really come by owl?" Lily asked Sev, as they sat against a large tree.

"Normally," Sev replied with a smile. "But you're Muggle-born, so someone from the school will have to come and explain to your parents."

Lily nodded. That made sense; her parents would probably think the letter a joke otherwise. Although it would explain her strange abilities. She'd made Tuney swear not to tell them about her still practicing magic (it gave her a little thrill to even think of it. _Magic…_) and they thought Sev was just a boy she'd become friends with.

Something about Sev's words worried her. "Does it make a difference, being Muggle-born?"

He seemed to hesitate, as he stared at her. "No, it doesn't make any difference," he said. Lily dismissed the hesitation as her imagination.

"Good." She said, relaxing against the tree.

"You've got loads of magic," said Severus. "I saw that. All the time is watching you . . ."

The hard wood of the tree was pressing into Lily's back so she scooted forward and stretched out on the ground next to him. "How are things at your house?" she asked.

She knew that because Severus's mother was a witch, and his father was a Muggle, it created tension at home. They argued a lot, and it made Sev upset. She could see why he'd had so much time to spy on her and realize she was a witch. She wouldn't want to be in a house where her parents argued all the time.

A little crease appeared between Sev's eyes. "Fine."

"They're not arguing anymore?" she asked hopefully.

"Oh yes, they're arguing," he absentmindedly began shredding the leaves around him. "But it won't be that long and I'll be gone."

Lily's heart ached for her friend. "Doesn't your dad like magic?"

"He doesn't like anything, much," Sev said sadly.

"Severus?"

A little smile twisted Sev's mouth when she said his name. "Yeah?"

"Tell me about the dementors again." She was always asking about the dementors. She never wanted to do anything that would cause her to meet them.

A few moments later, there was a rustling noise behind one of the trees. Petunia's head popped out.

"Tuney!" Lily cried. She wanted her sister to be a part of this, but Petunia continued to push her away. She wanted that closeness she had always had with her older sister, the closeness that her magic had seemingly pushed away. But beside her, Sev had jumped to his feet.

"Who's spying now?" he shouted. "What d'you want?"

Petunia was breathless and angry at being caught – Lily could see it in her eyes. "What is that you're wearing, anyway? Your mum's blouse?"

She pointed to Sev's shirt, which Lily thought looked just fine on him. He couldn't help his family's poorness. She felt her anger rise up in her, but pushed it down. She couldn't afford to get mad at Tuney. She would not endanger their relationship as sisters.

A loud _crack _brought her back to the present. A branch over Petunia's head had fallen. Lily screamed as the branch caught Petunia on the shoulder; she staggered backwards and burst into tears.

"Tuney!" She yelled. But Petunia was running away.

Lily rounded on Severus. "Did you make that happen?"

"No." He looked both defiant and scared.

"You did!" She was backing away from him. "You _did_! You hurt her!"

"No – no I didn't!"

Lily's bottom lip trembled, in anger and in sorrow. The lie didn't fool her. She didn't understand how the two most important people in her life could hate each other so much. With one last burning look at Sev, she turned and ran after Tuney.

* * *

Of course, she and Sev made up.

He told her more about the wizarding world. She learned that there was a sport played on brooms called _Quidditch._ It amused her to think of someone flying around on a broomstick throwing a big red ball through the air. She wanted to see a game played.

Finally, January rolled around and it was her birthday! Lily was finally 11. She had a small gathering of friends over, including Severus. He seemed uncomfortable with all her school friends, and Tuney didn't help. She ignored him completely, and he ended up leaving early. Later, she found his present on her bed. It was a small book, called Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, by Newt Scamander. There was a note attached to the front. It read:

_Lily, I thought you'd appreciate this book seeing as it's about magical creatures. I hope you like it. Happy 11__th__ Birthday! –Severus_

Lily hugged the book to her chest. She would treasure it always. Then she sat down on her bed and began to read.

* * *

**6 Months Later…**

As Lily sat eating breakfast one morning in July, she heard rapid knocking on the door. She jumped up and ran down the hall hollering, "I'VE GOT IT!"

She flung open the door to see Severus, his normal pallid face bright red and his black hair sticking out in crazy directions, as if he'd gone out for a morning run.

"I GOT MY LETTER!" he shouted, throwing his arms around her. It took her a moment to realize what he meant.

"What? Let me see!" she shrieked.

"Can't . . . it's at home. I . . . came right away . . . to tell you . . . Someone will probably be coming . . . to bring you yours," he gasped out.

She was grinning at him like a maniac but she couldn't help it. "Oh Sev! This is amazing. I can't wait. Oh SEV!" She spun around and around happily, her red hair fanning around her, until she fell on her butt, dizzy.

"Lily," Severus laughed at her. He reached out a hand to help her up, but she yanked him down next to her. His thin face was the happiest she'd ever seen it. She squeezed his hand and he squeezed back.

"Lil?" Mrs. Evans poked her head out the front door. "Lily Evans! Get back in the house and eat your breakfast! And for heaven's sake, get dressed!" With a sigh, she went back into the house.

Lily looked down at herself.

"Oops," she giggled. "I'm still in my pajamas!"

Severus laughed with her, and they spent several more breathless moments sitting there. Then Lily stood up.

"I had better go in and get ready. I'll come get you as soon as I get my letter, okay?"

"I can't wait," Sev grinned at her. "I'd better get back too. See you later!"

"Okay!" she called back happily. "See ya!"

She returned inside and finished her breakfast quickly. Then she ran upstairs and brushed her teeth and flossed. She needed to make a good first impression on these wizards. She combed back her long red hair, and held it in place with her favorite purple headband. Then she went into her bedroom and dug around in her drawers until she found her matching purple dress. Then she went into her small closet and pulled out her nice black church shoes. She smiled at herself in the mirror, then stuck out her tongue. She went downstairs and sat primly on the couch, smoothing out the front of her dress.

"Well, well, well," her mother said, walking into the room. "What are we all dressed up for?"

"Nothing," said Lily, a small smile crossing her face.

"Okay," Mrs. Evans replied, smiling back. "Well, if you want to let me know who's coming over, I'll be out in the garden."

Lily waited all morning. At noon, she went into the kitchen and carefully made and ate a sandwich. Then she resumed her spot on the couch, calmly staring at the front door.

At precisely three o'clock the doorbell rang. Lily sat up straighter, her eyes shining. Her mother opened the door and . . . her father walked in.

"Hello honey! Why are you home so early?" Mrs. Evans asked in surprise.

"It was the oddest thing," he replied, "They gave me the rest of the day off, paid. Said I've been doing a wonderful job and to keep it up."

"Wow, that's great news Dad!" Lily said with a smile, trying to hide her disappointment.

"Well! You look lovely today sweetie! Why are you all dressed up?" he asked with a smile.

"Well," she began, when the doorbell rang again. Since Mrs. Evans was still standing there, she opened it to admit a tall gentleman with a long white beard. Lily's heart began to race. This must be her wizard, with her letter. Oh, how she hoped this was him.

"Hello ma'am, is this the Evans household?" he asked.

"Why yes it is," Mrs. Evans replied with a smile. "How may we help you?"

"May I come in?"

"Of course!" Mrs. Evans opened the door wider. She gestured towards the sitting room. "Please, have a seat." He sat down on the couch across from Lily and her father. He was wearing a rather odd looking suit; it was dark orange and didn't seem to fit him quite right. His tie was green, and had little golden balls with wings on it. He was quite thin, and had long white hair as well as his beard. Perched on his nose were a pair of half-moon spectacles. Lily couldn't help but stare.

Mrs. Evans sat down on the other side of Lily. "How may we help you?" she repeated.

"You are Lily Evans?" the stranger asked Lily. Lily's heart nearly flew out of her chest. She swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry.

"Yes, sir."

"And you know what you are, I suppose?" he queried, peering at her through his spectacles, a twinkle in his bright blue eyes.

"Um," again, she swallowed, "What do you mean sir?"

"Yes, what do you mean?" Mr. Evans asked.

"My dear child, don't pretend with me!" he laughed softly, but it wasn't mocking. She found that she liked him, as confusing as he was.

"Excuse me, but I don't believe you introduced yourself," Mrs. Evans interrupted.

"Oh! My sincerest apologies madam. I am, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the same school, in fact, that I would like to extend an offer of invitation to your daughter Lily." He smiled serenely at her dumbfounded parents.

"Witchcraft and Wizardry . . . So, our baby girl _is_ a witch?" Mrs. Evans asked faintly. Lily looked at her mother's pale face and stood up.

"Excuse me, I'll just go fetch some drinks for them, Mr. er . . ." she trailed off, wondering what she should call him.

"Professor Dumbledore will do dear. Tea sounds like an excellent idea," he said.

Lily hurried into the kitchen and set some water to boiling on the stove.

"Who's here?" Tuney asked, walking in.

"A wizard from Hogwarts!" Lily replied excitedly.

"What?" Tuney's face fell and she turned and ran out of the room. Lily could hear her feet pounding up the stairs and thought she heard a muffled sob. Biting her lip at her own thoughtlessness she turned to go after her sister when the kettle began to whistle. Lily put then tea things onto a tray and brought it into the living room, setting it down on the small table between couches.

"Thank you, my dear," said Professor Dumbledore. Her parents, as well, expressed their thanks. "Now down to business. Your daughter is a witch. This is not a hoax. Twice today, I have had people laughing in my face when I told them their son or daughter was magical."

"You mean there are other Muggle-born's my age?" Lily interrupted with a gasp. Her father shot her a look. "Oh sorry," she quickly apologized.

"It's quite all right," Professor Dumbledore looked amused.

"I believe you," Mrs. Evans said.

"Me too," said Mr. Evans.

Lily met her parent's gazes with a shocked one of her own.

"There's always been something . . . different about Lily. And when she began to make things move without touching them, well, we suspected," Mrs. Evans smiled.

"Good, good," Professor Dumbledore murmured. It was as if he already knew everything that was being said. Lily decided to try and surprise him.

"I've met another wizard boy," she chimed in.

Her parent's exchanged a startled glance. "Who?"

She looked right into Professor Dumbledore's eyes. "Severus Snape."

He stared right back, the amused twinkle back in his eye. "Yes, Severus is your age and lives down on Spinner's End, does he not?"

She nodded haughtily.

"Severus? A wizard? I never guessed that," Mr. Evans admitted with a rueful laugh. "What about Petunia?"

"Ah, yes. The sister." At this, Professor Dumbledore looked almost sad. "She is a Muggle, just like her parents. A non-magical person," he added, seeing the Evans' looks of confusion.

Lily didn't know what to say. Poor Tuney . . .

Professor Dumbledore clapped his hands. "How silly of me, I still haven't given you your letter!" With a flourish, he pulled out a yellowish envelope, addressed in green ink to Miss L. Evans, 42 Wingers Street, Cokeworth England. She held out a trembling hand for it.

* * *

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Miss Evans,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1.

Yours Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

_Deputy Headmistress_

* * *

Lily looked at her professor in awe. "It's real," she whispered. "It's really happening!"

"Yes my dear, it is," Professor Dumbledore smiled happily.

"So you have a deputy headmistress? Does she take over when you're sick? Or do you not get sick because you have potions and stuff?" Lily asked excitedly.

"Professor McGonagall is indeed my deputy headmistress. She is new this year, as headmistress and as head of Gryffindor house. This will be her 5th year teaching Transfiguration," he held up a hand as Lily opened her mouth again. "The time for questions is not now."

She nodded, abashed.

"Now! I believe we must get going!"

Lily was startled. "Where are we going?"

"To Diagon Alley. You have your booklist?" he nodded to the envelope in her hand. She pulled out a second sheet of parchment.

"Good, good."

"Wait- _where_ are you taking her?" Mr. Evans cut in rather sharply.

"To get all of her magical supplies," Professor Dumbledore replied calmly. "Can you drive?"

"I – Yes," Mr. Evans responded.

"Then we must be off now if we are to catch the train. Unless you would both like to come?" he asked.

"So . . . is this like a wizard's shopping mall?" Mrs. Evans questioned.

"Precisely!" Professor Dumbledore sounded delighted.

"Then we'll both come, if you don't mind."

"Excellent. Miss Evans?"

"Let's go," Lily mustered a determined smile. _Off to Diagon Alley,_ she thought. _Wherever that is!_

* * *

__**A/N: Okay, next chapter will be the last before Hogwarts. Maybe we'll even meet James on the train :O I'm not sure yet:) Reviews are, of course, much appreciated! Oh, and all of this belongs to J. K. Rowling. Some of it is directly taken from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: The Prince's Tale. None of it belongs to me! No matter how much I wish it did :)**


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